UC Davis Medical Center ranks among top 50 U.S. hospitals, first in Sacramento area

Twenty-six UC Davis physicians also included on the list of U.S. News Top Doctors.

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) —

UC Davis Medical Center ranks among the top 50 hospitals in the nation and number one in the Sacramento region, according to the results of U.S. News & World Report's 2011-2012 best hospitals survey, published online today. In addition, 26 UC Davis physicians are included on the list of U.S. News Top Doctors.

US News also named UC Davis among the nation's Most Connected Hospitals for adopting information technology to enhance patient safety and quality of care. UC Davis was one of 118 hospitals to receive the designation for its leadership in the adoption of electronic health records.

U.S. News evaluated about 5,000 hospitals to rank the best in 16 adult medical specialties, from cancer to urology. UC Davis Medical Center ranks 39th in cancer care and 46th in orthopaedics, placing it in the top 1 percent of hospitals nationwide.

The rankings will appear in the U.S. News Best Hospitals guidebook, which will be available Aug. 30.

This year's rankings include the U.S. News Top Doctors list, which includes 26 UC Davis physicians whose expertise spans 20 specialty areas. Developed in collaboration with Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., a New York City-based company that has worked for nearly two decades to identify the nation's top doctors, the Top Doctors selections are based on nominations submitted by other doctors and reviewed by a physician-led research team.

UC Davis Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Ann Madden Rice said the recognition is the result of the hospital's outstanding physicians, superior nurses and dedicated staff, and their commitment to providing exceptional patient care.

"This honor is a testament to our employees' unwavering commitment to placing UC Davis Medical Center at the pinnacle of patient care in the Sacramento region and the nation," Rice said. "I am deeply proud of our successes in developing new, innovative treatments and technologies that are advancing health and transforming health care here and around the world."

The U.S. News ranking summarizes the quality of inpatient care examining the balance of nurses to patients; mortality statistics; patient safety; reputation; the numbers of procedures conducted; and other care-related measures such as technology and patient services. Hospitals that appear on the list often pioneer new treatments, conduct translational research and exploit the latest advances in imaging, surgical devices and other technologies that advance health.

UC Davis is one of only 65 hospitals nationwide with a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. At the UC Davis Cancer Center, top specialists provide compassionate, comprehensive care each year for more than 9,000 adults and children and offer access to more than 150 clinical trials. Through the Cancer Care Network, UC Davis collaborates with community hospitals and clinics to offer the latest cancer services to patients throughout the Central Valley and Northern California.

The UC Davis Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is a leader in state-of-the-art surgery, research and education, with a level I trauma center and a musculoskeletal research center that are among the most sophisticated and interdisciplinary in the nation. The program encompasses nine subspecialties, a 24-hour level I trauma center and programs for pediatric patients at Shriners Hospital for Children - Northern California, as well as access to leading-edge clinical research trials.

The U.S. News survey showed that UC Davis Medical Center's nurse-to-patient ratio -- 2.7 registered nurses per patient bed -- is among the nation's highest. In cancer, only Yale New Haven Hospital, the Mayo Clinic and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center have higher nurse-to-patient ratios, with 3.2, 3.1 and three nurses per bed, respectively. In orthopaedics, only Mayo and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center had higher ratios, with 3.1 and three nurses per bed, respectively.

UC Davis Medical Center is a comprehensive academic medical center where clinical practice, teaching and research converge to advance human health. Centers of excellence include the National Cancer Institute-designated UC Davis Cancer Center; the region's only level I pediatric and adult trauma centers; the UC Davis MIND Institute, devoted to finding treatments and cures for neurodevelopmental disorders; and the UC Davis Children's Hospital. The medical center serves a 33-county, 65,000-square-mile area that stretches north to the Oregon border and east to Nevada. It further extends its reach through the award-winning telemedicine program, which gives remote, medically underserved communities throughout California unprecedented access to specialty and subspecialty care. For more information, visit medicalcenter.ucdavis.edu.